Grain-drier



No'. msaz. Patented. Nov. l, |898. o, MEINSHAUSEN.

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Patentd Nov. I, v|898. 0. MEINSHAUSEN.

GRAIN DRIEB.

(Application led Jan. 17, 1898.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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No. 6|3,382. Patented Nov. I, |898. 0. MEINSHAUSEN.

GRAIN nmzn.

(Application led Jan. 17, 1898.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

I l hun. "HHM Y I ununmm Hum We No. 6|3,382. Patented Nov. I, |898. 0. vMEINSHAUSEN. GRAIN DBIER. (Appncaeion med .'Ian. 17, 189s.) (no Model.) 4 sheets-sheet 4.

ATENT OFFICE.

OTTO MEINSHAUSEN, OF CI-IICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GRAIN- DRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 613,382, dated November 1, 1898.

Application iled January 17, 1898.

To a/ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, Ofrro MmNsHAUsEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Grain-Driers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in grain-driers 5 and my object is to provide certain improvements in the feeding mechanism both of the introductory orinitial feed, through which the material passes to have expressed from it the excess moisture while on its way to the drying-chambers, and of the subsequent or drying-chamber feed located in the drying-chambers.

Myinvention consists in the improved feeding devices and in minor details of construction, all as hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a view in side elevation and partly in section of a drier embodying my improvements; Fi'g. 2, a vertical transverse section on line 2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3, a vertical section of the introductory feed and preliminary drying device; Fig. 4, a broken partially-sectional view of the interior mechanism of one of the steamheated drying-chambers, and Fig. 5 a view. in perspective of one of the conveyer-combs with which the rotating spider in the upper drying-chamber is equipped.

I shall describe the general construction of the drier with only such a degree of particularity as will render easy an understanding of my improvements, said construction being old and well known.

The drier proper comprises three dryingchambers A, B, and C, of U shape in crosssection and arranged in a vertical row. These chambers are provided with steam-jackets A', B', and C, fitted with steam-supply pipes A2, B2, and C2, branching from a common supply-pipe D, and with drain-pipes A3, B3, and C3, branching from a common drain-pipe D'.

The drying-chambers mentioned are open from above, as most clearly shown in Fig. 2, and are all contained within a suitable casing E, which is supplied with a stack E', through which the vapors arising from the drying materials escape.

'at the bottom with discharge-pipes t.

Serial No. 666,843. (No model.)

The material to be dried is emptied rst into a hopper F, communicating with a perforated cylinder F, inclosed in a jacket F2, supported by brackets F3 F4, attached to the front end of the casing E. The bracket F4 takes the form of a discharge-spout leading from the perforated cylinder to the upper drying-chamber, but not communicating directly with the space between the perforated cylinder and its inclosing jacket.

Supported on a bracket G, attached to the casing E, is a vertically-disposed shaft H, which carries a perforated cone I, supplied The cone rests upon a shoulder with which the shaft is provided and forms a close joint at the bottom with the bracket F4,through which it passes and upon which the lower end of the cylinder F rests. j cone is provided with a sleeve I', which fits closely about the shaft H, with which it revolves, the sleeve being journaled in a bearing J, supported by inward-projecting arms J at the top of the cylinder. The sleeve is provided with radial blades or inclined fanlike propellers K, which serve in their rotation to force the material downward. The body of the cone is similarly provided on its exterior surface with inclined propellingblades K, which rotate with it and serve to compact the material.

. Depending from the bracket FA1 is a drippan L,provided with a centralhub L', through which the shaft I-I passes. This pan serves to receive the liquid expressed from the material through'the hollow perforated cone and through the perforated cylinder, the liquid in the latter instance passing into the jacket F2, whence it escapes through a drip-pipe S. The drip-pan is itself provided with a discharge-pipe o, which may lead to any suitable reservoir. At its lower end and below the bracket G the shaft H is provided with a bevel-gear I-I. The hopper, perforated cone,

cylinder, and attendant parts are hereinafter termed the introductory-feed mechanism.

The upper drying chamber is equipped with my improved internal'stirring and con; veying mechanism and the two lower chambers with peculiarly-arranged heating-coils.

At its upper end the y For reasons readily understood by those skilled iu the art the top drying-chamber is left uuprovided with internal heating device. It is provided with a shaft q, journaled in boxes q' at the ends of the casing and carrying at one end a pulley M and sprocketwheel q2. On the interior of the chamber the shaft is provided with spiders M', to which are secured anglebarsp,to which are secured at intervals in the ordinary manner conveyer and stirrer combs N and spring-held scrapers N. The combs N are of improved construction, being supplied with peculiarly-constructed teeth n, as shown in Fig. 5. These teeth are so set with relation to the dat sides of the base of the comb as to be inclined thereto in two planes-that is to say, they not only have their sides inclined to the plane surfaces or flat sides of the comb-base, but also they have a slant in the direction of their length, the slant of the teeth being in a direction to assist the inclined sides thereof in their function of propelling or conveying the damp material longitudinally of the dryingchamber during the rotation of the shaft. Such an arrangement aids materially in the stirring as well as the advancing of the-ma terial.

The lower chambers are provided with spiders P, Fig. 4, angle-bars p', and conveyershovels N2, the whole arragement being very similar to that of the corresponding elements in the upper chamber, except that here the spiders are supported on large central steampipes Q. Into the ends of the steam-pipes Q are rigidly secured hollow trunnions Q' Q2, journaled in boxes Q3 Q4, supported by the ends ofthe casing E. The trunnions are supplied at their ends with rigidly-secured stuffing-boxes m m', packing-rings m2, and packing-adjustment rings m3 m4, adjustable by means of bolts m5 in a usual manner. Into the stuffing-boxes 'm are itted exhaust-steam pipes m5, provided at their inner ends with flanges mi, which secure the pipes rotatably within the stufiing-boxes. Similarly the stufiing-boxes m' receive live-steam pipes m8, rotatably secured with relation to the stufn gboxes. Communicating with the pipes las is a steam-supply pipe m. Similarly communicating with the pipes m is an exhaustpipe m10.

Confined within the angle-irons P' and secured thereto by any suitable means (none being here shown) are two or more (the preferred number, as here shown, being three) spiral steam-coils R R R2, &c. arranged close together and communicating with the pipes Q toward their opposite ends. These coil-pipes emanate from the central pipes on the same transverse vertical plane and are given the same pitch after the manner of a many-threaded screw. Such an arrangement, while preserving all the advantage of a single closecoiled pipe, has the additional advantage that more direct passages for the How of steam and water are afforded, whereby the steam can be maintainedinadryercondition and atahigher temperature, conditions of initial pressures, the., remaining unchanged. In Fig. 2 the true section indicated is not shown, an inclined section being shown so far as it relates to the pipes in order that the cutting-plane may clearly disclose all the pipes. Near their discharge ends the pipes Q are provided with partitions or drum-heads Y.

The trunnions Q2are provided with sprocketwheels S, geared together and to the sprocketwheel q2 by sprocket-chains S' and S2, respectively. On the trunnion Q' of the middle drying-chamber is a bevel-gear T, meshing with the gear II' of the shaft II.

The operation is as follows: Motion is communicated to the revolving parts through the medium of the pulley M. The material to be dried is introduced into the hopper F. Steam enters through the steam-supply pipe D to heat the jackets A', B', and C' and is discharged through the pipe D. Steam enters the pipes Q through the steam-supply pipe m, lls the pipes Q to the partition-wall or drum-head Y, and then circulates through the coils R R', &c., thence passing into the portions of the pipes Q beyond the drumheads, and finally escaping through the exhaust-pipe m10. The material is first engaged by the blades or propellers K K' upon the revolving sleeve I' and cone I and is thereby, as well as by gravity, forced downward and compacted between the hollow cylinder and cone. By the time the material reaches the discharge-chute Fl the excess of moisture has been all expressed through the perforations of the cone and cylinder, passing through the drain-pipes s and t to the drip-pan L. The still damp material passes through the chute F4 to the upper drying-chamber proper. The upper chamber is only moderately heated by steam introduced into its jacket, and during its passage therethrough the material passes through the viscous or sticky stage, which would be more noticeable and objectionable were the irst drying-chamber highly heated. The material as it enters the drying-chamber A is loosened and stirred by the rotating conveyer-combs N and is rapidly advanced thereby toward the right-hand, Fig. l, or discharge end of said chamber, where it drops through an opening l into the chamber B. The

Scrapers N serve to keep the material from accumulating on the inner surface of the chamber. In the chamber B the material is caught up successively by the shovels N"z and advanced toward a discharge-openin g l'. The shovels empty the material over the surfaces of the heated coils, which latter serve to some extent as worm conveyers, and thus assist in the advancement of the material. The material is discharged at Z into the chamber C, from whence it is ejected, thoroughly dried, at the discharge-chute Z2.

It is obvious that the drier may be modiiied ICO in matters of detail without departing from my invention. For instance, the number of drying-chambers may be varied, and the construction of the preliminary drying-chamber and attendant parts may be variously modified so long as the principle of feeding the wet material into a contracting chamber provided with a perforated surface, which is the essential feature of this part of the mechanism, is preserved.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a drier, the combination with the drying-chambers proper and the casing, of introductory-feed mechanism through which the grain passes to the first drying-chamber, comprising concentric relatively-rotatable perforated members affording between them an annular space gradually reducing in size from the inlet to the discharge and in communication at the discharge with the first of said drying-chambers, means for rotating one of said members, and means on the surface of one of said members for forcing the grain through said gradually reducing annular space, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. y

2. In a drier, the combination with the dry-- ing with said shell an annular chamber having walls contracting toward the discharge end, one or both of said walls being perforated as described and provided with propelling means, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a drier, the combination with the dryingchamber proper, of introductory-feed mechanism, comprising telescoping cylinder and cone relatively rotatable and affording between them an annular chamber contracting toward the discharge end, one or both of said members being provided with perforations and one of said members being provided with propeller-blades, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

vIl. In a drier, the combination with the drying chamber proper, of introductory-feed mechanism, comprising a perforated hollow cylinder F', a perforated hollow rotatable cone I located within said cylinder provided with discharge-outlet, propeller-blades upon said cone, a jacket surrounding said cylinder and provided with a discharge opening, a discharge-chute joining the annular space between said cone and cylinder to said dryingchamber proper and -means for rotating the cone, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a drier, the combination with the drying-chamber proper and the casing, of introductory-feed mechanism comprising a vertically-disposed perforated cylinder, a jacket surrounding the cylinder pro vided with adischarge-opening, a chute leading from the discharge end of the cylinder to the top dryingchamberl proper, a hopper above the cylinder, a perforated cone I provided with a sleeve I and propeller-blades K K journaled in the cylinder, and means for rotating the cone, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a drier, the combination with the drying-chambers proper and the casing, of introductory-feed mechanism comprising a perforated cylinder, a hopper located above said cylinder, a jacket surroundingsaid cylinder, a bracket F4 supporting said device and aording a bottom for said cylinder and jacket, and

a discharge-chute for the cylinder, a bracket G beneath said bracket F4 supported by the casing, a shaft H journaled in the bracket G, a hollow perforated cone in said cylinder upon said shaft provided with an upward-extending sleeve and journaled in the bottom of the cylinder, propelling-blades on said cone and sleeve, and means for rotating the shaft, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a drier, the combination with the drying chambers proper and the casing, of a hollow perforated cylinder, a hopper located above said cylinder, a jacket surrounding said cylinder provided with an outlet, a dischargepipe leading from said cylinder to the top dryin g-chamber proper, a perforated cone journaled in said cylinder and provided with propeller-blades and with a discharge-openin g at its lower end, a drip-pan suspended beneath said cylinder, and means for rotating said cone, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In a drier, the combination with the drying chambers proper and the casing, of a hollow perforated cylinder, a hopper located above said cylinder, ajacket surrounding said cylinder provided with an outlet, a dischargepipe leading from said cylinder to the top drying-chamber proper, a bracket G supported by the casing, a shaft H journaled therein, a

hollow perforated cone rigidly attached to the shaft and provided with a discharge-outlet at its bottom, propelling-blades upon the cone, a drip-pan L suspended beneath said cylinder provided with a sleeve or hub L for the passage of the shaft H, and means for rotating the shaft, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

9. In a drier, the combination with the drying-chambers proper, heating-pipes therein, and gears connected with said heating-pipes for rotating them, of introductory-feed mechanis'm, comprising a stationary perforated member, a revolving perforated member concentric therewith and forming with the stationary member an annular chamber having converging walls, propeller-blades Yon the revolving member, gear connection between vsaid revolving member and the gearing of said heating-pipes, and means of communication IOS between said annular chamber and the rst plane containing said axis, substantially as of said drying-chambers, substantially as and and for the purpose set forth. for the purpose set forth. T i T 10. In a drier, the combination with a dry- OTTO MEIL SHAUSEB 5 ing-chamber, of rotating conveyer-combs provided with teeth having propelling-surfaces In presence of- J. W. DYRENFORTH,

inclined both to the axis of rotation and to a l J. H. LEE. 

